Redding on top of second practice session

After a low-key start to the day, finishing 23rd in first practice, Scott Redding shot to the top of the Moto2™ classification on Friday afternoon. The Marc VDS Racing Team rider, second in the standings, set the pace in Texas from Desguaces La Torre Maptaq’s Xavier Simeon and Came Iodaracing Project’s Johann Zarco.

Lapping almost three seconds quicker than the leading lap time of the morning period and helped by the fact that the track had been cleaned up further by the preceding Moto3™ and MotoGP™ sessions, Redding reduced the pace to 2’12.481.

Second-placed Simeon was three quarters of a second slower, but just 42 thousandths up on Zarco. This left morning pace-setter Terol fourth for Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2, with NGM Mobile Racing’s Simone Corsi inside the top five for the second time today. Second Marc VDS rider Mika Kallio was next up, demoting championship leader and Tuenti HP 40’s Pol Espargaro to seventh place.

Mike di Meglio had suffered a frustrating opening race of the year in Qatar a fortnight ago - including a problem on the grid and subsequent collision with Mattia Pasini - but today showed more promising speed by cementing eighth spot. However more misfortune was to come for his Jir Moto2 squad, as the Frenchman lost control and fell at Turn 6 in the closing stages on this afternoon’s session.

The top ten was completed by Tuenti’s Esteve Rabat and Technomag carXpert’s Dominique Aegerter. An early collision saw Desguaces La Torre SAG’s Marcel Schrotter tag the rear of Rabat, who had been forced to slow dramatically in order to avoid the touring Blusens Avintia bike of Toni Elias; both Rabat and Schrotter found themselves on the ground, but were able to rejoin the action.

The third and last Moto2™ practice session of the Austin weekend comes on Saturday, beginning at 10:55am local time (GMT -5).